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Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine
'' loaded aboard a transporter.]] The Shaw-Fujikawa translight engine (STFE, or slipspace drive) is a human spacecraft propulsion system capable of making transitions to and from slipstream space and by extension allowing faster-than-light interstellar travel. The Covenant analogue functions on similar principles, but is referred to exclusively as a slipspace drive. History The engine was developed by a group of engineers and theoretical physicists led by Tobias Fleming Shaw and Wallace Fujikawa and was completed in April 2291Halo 3 multiplayer map, Orbital. From that point onward, the drive became one of the most important technological innovations of humanity.Halo: Contact Harvest, pg. 24 The drive is not without limitations, however, although these may be partially because of slipstream physics rather than engineering imperfections. Short slips may take several months, whilst longer slips may take over half a year.Halo: Contact Harvest, pg. 24 By 2552, most human spacecraft were equipped with a slipspace engine, including most, if not all of the UNSC Navy’s warships.Plausible speculation, considering that no UNSC capital ship has yet lacked a drive. Functionality The Shaw-Fujikawa translight engine functions by creating ruptures, referred to in some sources as wormholes, between normal space and an alternate plane known as slipspace (also known as slipstream space and Shaw-Fujikawa spaceHalo: The Fall of Reach, pg. 141). The nonstandard physics of slipspace allow it to be used as a shortcut realm, facilitating interstellar travel between distant regions in reasonable time. The engine makes ruptures by using high-powerCERN’s Large Hadron Collider is considered high-power, and there was speculation that it would generate micro black holes. A collider expressly designed to create black holes would be of even higher power cyclicThe drive seen in Halo Wars is too small to fit a linear accelerator inside, so the UNSC must use circular, ringed configurations particle accelerators to generate microscopic black holes. Because of their low mass, Hawking radiation gives them a lifetime of around a nanosecond before they evaporate into useless thermal energy. In that nanosecond, the engine manipulates them into forming a coherent rupture between normal space and the slipstream.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, pg. 53 It should be noted that in real-world physics, black holes have been identified as a possible vector for constructing traversable wormholes, specifically by replacing the singularity with a path to a white hole in another universe. It is unknown whether a slipspace drive has a role in accelerating a spacecraft through slipstream space, or whether conventional reaction thrusters are used. It is known that an engine remains active for the entire period that a spacecraft is in the slipstream, although its purpose during this period is unknown. When active, a Shaw-Fujikawa engine emits alpha (helium nuclei) and beta (fast electrons) particles.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, pg. 145 Human slipspace drives were considered black boxes which were very difficult to repair or maintain after they went hot for the first time. Spartan-051 considered slipspace drives dangerousHalo: Ghosts of Onyx, pg. 53, noting the aforementioned radiation and that spacetime was said to distort around an active device. Dr. Halsey also observed that in the past, several technicians had simply vanished whilst manually adjusting a drive.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, pg. 146 Given their advanced technology, it is unknown whether the Covenant had a similar view. Atypical Uses There have been several occasions where a Shaw-Fujikawa translight engine has been used for purposes other than those intended. * In 2531, the Spirit of Fire cannibalised its slipspace engine for use as an improvised bomb, in order to induce supernova in the miniature star at the heart of an unnamed shield world.Halo Wars * In the same year, the Office of Naval Intelligence used a partially deconstructed drive to cause Spartan-051’s armour to malfunction and send him flying into space so he could be secretly rescued and recruited for the Spartan-III project.Halo: Ghosts of Onyx * Several times, the UNSC has attempted to execute in-atmosphere slipspace transitions. They were always unsuccessful, leading to the conversion of the trial spacecraft into “atomised bits”.Halo: First Strike Covenant Advantages Being more scientifically and technologically advanced than humanity (having stolen most of it notwithstanding), the Covenant have numerous advantages in slipspace propulsion systems. Whilst the Shaw-Fujikawa engine is said to “punch” a hole between realms using brute force, Covenant engines instead take a small rupture and delicately enlarge it with surgical precision. This allows the latter to execute far more accurate slips.Halo: First Strike Covenant drives are generally more flexible than those of humans. They have twice been seen to execute in-atmosphere slipspace transitions''Ascendant Justice'' in Halo: First Strike and Regret’s carrier in Halo 2 (although the first time the drive in question was controlled by a human AI). In addition, they can execute successful slips even if underpowered. Terminology The original term for making a transition between normal space and the slipstream was “jump”, which was later retconned to “slip”. Halo Wars introduces additional terminology for the slipspace drive. It is referred to as an FTL drive and FTL reactor several times, and the process of initialising it for a slip was referred to as “spinning up”. This may be an attempt to introduce more accessible nomenclature for newcomers to the Halo franchiseAlternatively, it may be a reference to the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, where the phrase is often used. Related Articles *United Nations Space Command *Human-Covenant War Sources Category:UNSC Category:Technology